Vietnam 1971 Native American

Fought the war,
again
tribal bashers
in to the native village
cigarette smoking soldiers
flask carrying
eye of the beholder
magazines loaded
no bow
no bow
or arrow
but still the same
result
cartridge emptied
into mother and father
scent of gunpowder fired
i'm tired
of all of this
against whom?
lying
or lying?
why the hell am i here?
trying to defend
the country that raped
took away my race
im still protecting my land
in the jungle
against
a people
who have done me no harm
ambush
courageous
i won me a medal
of honour
a purple heart
yet mine bleeds black
i am defending, apprehending
against a purity
whose homes are truly
theres
it's insane
drunken G.I's
smacked up on the power
another body bag on
chasing the dragon
try to meet my ancestors
in the spirit world
painted faces
show me the way to go home
im tired and i want to go to bed
please
don't tease
i'm killing men here
to protect the homeland
the reservation
there is none
only preservation
mine,
step on
boom
lost a leg on,
one legged Indian
in a foreign place
turn around on crutches
medal is gone
what am i?
an invader
of this foreign land
a cripple now
back home to the wife
or squaw
because i fought the brothers
in the land next door
because the president
told me to
and that persuasion
was enough
to kill,
and lose a leg
gone
disabled, because i was looked upon
as a native American
in Vietnam
1971.

M J Martin.